Spencerport village residents will see increase in taxes

For fiscal year June 1, 2004 - May 31, 2005, Spencerport Village residents may be paying more in property taxes. The actual amount, if the budget is approved, works out to $ .37 per $1,000 of assessed value. This means that for a property, whether commercial or residential, assessed at $100,000 the owner would pay $37 more per year in property taxes. Receipts from property taxes account for only 20 percent of the overall budget.

As with most villages and towns, the necessary increase has been due in part to circumstances uncontrolled by village officials. Income continues to decline from interest on investments and state aid. Receipts from these are at an all time 10-year low and account for lost revenue of approximately $34,000. While income from Monroe County in the form of redistributed sales tax is projected to increase, it does not keep up with the increased costs the village incurs. Health care and liability insurance costs continue to rise. Mandated employer contributions to the State Retirement Fund will increase to $123,000 in 2004 compared to $28,700 in 2002, and $59,200 in 2003. Although sales tax revenues for the past year have risen by 2.5 percent, the increase is not enough to cover the rising expenses.

According to village officials, administrators are doing everything they can to keep the costs down. Significant controls have been put into place. Health care costs have been capped and employees must pay anything above that ceiling. Liability insurance plans and costs are being reviewed and scrutinized. The frequency of bulk refuse pick up has been reduced to reallocate staff to road construction projects. The village is also developing five and ten year budgets to help it better manage limited funds and still provide all the services to business owners and residents in the village. The General Fund proposed budget for 2004-2005 is approximately 3.3 percent higher than last year's.

Another increase residents will incur will be for their sewer usage. The proposed Sewer Fund Budget for next year is $850,697. This means an increase to residents of approximately $26.40 per year. Residents who currently pay $173.60 for sewer charges will be paying $200 if the budget is approved. Some of this fee goes towards maintenance of the village's aging sanity sewer system and processing of sewage at the village's Waste Water Treatment Plant. The sewer system will become a major expense issue within the next three to five years. The village will either have to make significant repairs or make the decision to take the facility off-line and pump the effluent to Monroe County Pure Waters for treatment. Considerable expense will be incurred for either scenario and the rates will be adjusted in the future to help pay for it. Village Administrator Al Scheg said the cost, no matter which decision is made, is approximately $6 million. However, he said that price does not include any expansion for the existing plant, only repairing and upgrading. Currently there is no option to add sewer customers. "The DEC is constantly changing the requirements. Rightfully, they are stringent regarding the amount of chemicals we can use and the composition. It's a constant concern and expense to keep this plant up to date," he said.

"The last time the treatment plant was rebuilt was in the early 1970s. It will definitely become a major concern within a few more years," Scheg said.

Electric rates will remain constant for customers of Spencerport Municipal Electric, subject to review later in 2004 or 2005.

There no longer is a Water Fund as all customers are now serviced by the Monroe County Water Authority. Customers in the village now pay on average $150 less per year than when they were on Village water.

A Budget Hearing is open to the public and will be held on April 7 at 7 p.m. at the Spencerport Fire District Station, 175 Lyell Avenue.